Pope to meet with homeless, prisoners and immigrants during September visit to US

The Associated Press

Published
12:13 pm EDT, Tuesday, June 30, 2015

Pope Francis greets the faithful as he leaves at the end of his weekly general audience in St. Peter’s Square at the Vatican on June 24, 2015.

Pope Francis greets the faithful as he leaves at the end of his weekly general audience in St. Peter’s Square at the Vatican on June 24, 2015.

Photo: AP Photo/Riccardo De Luca

Photo: AP Photo/Riccardo De Luca

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Pope Francis greets the faithful as he leaves at the end of his weekly general audience in St. Peter’s Square at the Vatican on June 24, 2015.

Pope Francis greets the faithful as he leaves at the end of his weekly general audience in St. Peter’s Square at the Vatican on June 24, 2015.

Photo: AP Photo/Riccardo De Luca

Pope to meet with homeless, prisoners and immigrants during September visit to US

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VATICAN CITY >> Pope Francis will meet with homeless people, immigrants and prisoners during his upcoming trip to Cuba and the United States. He’ll also preside over a meeting about religious liberty — a major topic for the U.S. Catholic Church in the wake of the Supreme Court’s gay marriage decision.

The Vatican published the itinerary Tuesday for the eagerly awaited Sept. 19-28 visit.

Francis added the Cuba leg onto the U.S. trip at the last minute after helping contribute to the historic thaw in U.S.-Cuba relations.

In the U.S., he will meet with President Barack Obama at the White House and become the first pope to address Congress. He will host an interfaith gathering at Ground Zero in New York and deliver a speech on sustainable development at the United Nations.